The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1887-03-30

tack. For couple of weeks any one who
yentured at any distance was sure to be
: fired at and run in. For a short time
again the Indians apparently had left,
when some men who ventured out to get
some wood were run in by small party.
This small party, of dozen or fifteen In
dians, would make constant little attacks
and run off again if they received the
slightest opposition. The majority of the
settlement took great precaution of their
personal safety and would on no account
venture outside the shelter of their houses
A very few men were all that would offer
decided opposition to these constant at
tacks, but continual success on the part of
the whites and the apparent cowardice of
the Indians finally induced almost every
one to run after the Indians whenever
they made any sort of demonstration. The
only horse in the settlement was picketed
and iron hobbled close to are of the build
ings One morning few Indians crawl
I ed through the sage brush, cut the horse
loose and endeayored to get him away
with the hobbies on. Nearly everyone
ran after them and the heavy firing caused
them TO abandon the horse and seek safety
in flight.
A couple of mornings after this occur
renee they opened fire at couple of Grow
squaws, who were gathering sage brush
for fire wood. The Indians numbered 16
and almost every white man rushed after
them in body. The Indians ran toward
| the Musselshell and then ran up the bot
tom. They were not running very fast
and the whites were gaining on them, when
suddenly there came shot-Which killed
Jake Leader-from coulee on the bank
of the Musselshell, and the whites saw
an ambush.
Had the Indians siezed the moment Of
panic no white man could have escaped
the massacre. The whites turned to run;
one man there saw the danger Of flight,
and stopped it with a leveled rifle. The
indians had probably been trying to bring
about this ambuscade for several days.
Their principal force was cached in
square. coulee on the bank of the Mussel-
she'll. Their plan was to make feint at
tacks with small party, so as to induce
all the whites to run after them; their de-
dians, when the pursuing whites came |
close to the ambush the Indians were to
jump out and in the surprise and panic
kill every white man. It was well and |
ably planned, and probably owed its fail
ure to some nervous Indian, who had fired |
too soon; but even as it was,it would have
been successful, had they made their on
slaught in the moment of terror and panic
that followed their first shot.
Most of the whites gradually withdrew
to the settlement or to a safe distance from
danger. Five or six men kept their posi-
tions within thirty or forty steps of the
now besieged Indians. We thought there
was quite a number of them, but did not
know how many. After short time an
other white man, Greenwood, was shot
through the lungs and had to be carried
back. We resorted to various articles to
get a shot at the Indians. Two men
would lie close together behind clump of
sage brush; one would show his hat on
stick, to draw shot from the enemy, the il
other would fire at the fash of the Indians [
gun.
A couple of hours were passed in this
way and it began to look as though we {
should not accomplish anything, when, /
fortunately, it began to rain We were |
armed with breech~loading rifles, the am I
nunition of which rain would not injure t
The Indians were armed with flint lock &
guns and bows and arrows, and as they a
were stripped naked for war they could
not protect their arms from the ram. We {
we're getting impatient, and relying on a
heir arms being useless on account of the il
ain, started to charge their position, but s
we're appalled, at the sight of their num- il
)ers in the coulee. a
The only possible way to reach them
vas for some of us to cross the Mussel- g
hell, get in their rear, open fire from t
here, and drive them out of their eoulee, n
7hen those on the other side of the In IL
ians would have chance at them, and al
nus place them between two fires. / W
aggested this plan to Frank Smith and
oe Bushaway. They agreed with it and til
'e three prepared TO cross the river We W
rossed the river about forty steps above m
le Indians position. The Indians, when II
ley saw ns make this movement, came to th
le mouth of the coulee and tried every G.
eans to get their guns off. One would tn
IN gun and snap the flint, another pour W
owder on the pan. They did manage to L,
re off II few of their old tukrs, wllch III
ent off with noise like that from SO tn
any cannons. Other Indians tried to tn
loot us with arrows, but their wet bow